Arts + Culture

Stars on the Rise: Damion Butler and Kai Ca$h

Damion Butler and Kai Ca$h are two of the waviest kids I have ever met (I promise I’m not gassing them). This Summer, Kai and Damion took a pause in their rapid race toward success to let me into their life. You may have heard their names before, whether it be from the legacy that their families have created or more recently from their affiliation with a collective called CYNMOB.

The collective formed over 10 years ago when the young visionaries were hanging out and someone suggested the name CYN — a name which holds an undisclosed meaning, and the name that stuck ever since. Since then, the collective has expanded, and their expansion is what influenced them to change the name from CYN to CYNMOB (they’re pretty deep now) — the “MOB” can also mean “men of business.” The collective was established in 2011.

The group is infused with endless amounts of talent and forward thinkers who have had the opportunity to be raised as students by various legends — ranging from their parents and their uncle (Diddy) to the people who are behind the scenes working hard to make the vision come alive. They are consistently surrounded by people whose mindset and drive serve as inspiration. A combination of their work ethic, creativity, innovation, personalities, experiences and dedication to reaching success has sculpted them into the entrepreneurs they are today.

To say that the MOB is ahead of their time would be an understatement. They have apprehended the importance of building together and making their wildest dreams come true, together. Hence why almost every project that the MOB produces is created in-house. As you can see (pictured below), it’s always a family affair and nothing but love. The rise to the top is a team effort — a MOB effort.

Photographed by Terika Walton

“Not everybody makes music, but we all contribute something to the MOB. We are basically making CYN like a big firm of anything you want to do. As long as you are doing something and bringing something to the table!”

The two men that I have had the pleasure of working with the most are Damion Butler (pictured on the left) and Kai Ca$h (pictured on the right). The two are both powerful forces within the collective who are ready to claim their time and reveal their individual hustlin’ and crafts to the world.

Photographed by Terika Walton

Dame (or D-Roc) is a 21-year-old actor/writer who grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, but derives from Brooklyn, NY. He says that the role he plays in CYN is “a visionary, an actor and a writer.” Dame gives a lot of credit to his hometown Baltimore for allowing him to be exposed to a different side of the world, which ultimately led to strong relationships with people he would have never met had it not been for his move.

Even though Dame grew up in the entertainment industry, it wasn’t easy for him to identify which path he wanted to take in life, but the idea of being different from everyone else was intriguing. He found himself in a MOB full of people who were creative, talented and unique in their own ways. Although Dame took on sports, such as basketball, for most of his life, he knew at a young age that his passion was acting.

Once he began his life as a college student, Dame knew it was time to take matters into his own hands and make an effort to perfect his craft. He started to take acting classes, which ultimately led to him landing his role as Mike Williams in a web-series called “BSU” created by Brooke Davis and written by Phyillica Bishop. Dame has goals to expand his acting portfolio in the near future and also has plans to enter the modeling industry.

When Dame isn’t busy grinding he spends his time at Lasell College. His longterm goals in life are to be an inspiration in every way and always continue to grow.

“I want to dive more into writing in every aspect possible, song writing included. It’s important for me to act as an inspiration for people of all kinds in some way or another. I will know I’m doing something right once I feel like I have touched people all over the world through my craft and from just being me.”

Photographed by Terika Walton

Kai is a 20-year-old rapper/songwriter and author from Brooklyn, New York, who describes his role in CYN as “an artist, an author, an entrepreneur, a designer and a scholar.” Kai has been involved and surrounded by music from a young age (alongside Damion) and credits his consistent growth to his early start and ability to adapt and learn.

When he was 15, he took interest in other artistic outlets, such as graphic designing, which led to the creation of his clothing line, “God Glory Gold” and becoming a designer for CYN merchandise. Kai later took on the task of writing his first book, “Tranquil: Overcoming the experience,” which acts as a guide to getting through anxiety (an amazing read).

Kai looks to several individuals — such as Biggie, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Nas, Pharrell, Missy Elliot and Timbaland — for inspiration, but especially looks up to his father and uncles Diddy and Damion Butler (Dame’s father) when it comes to being an artist, businessman, visionary and go-getter. He believes that a lot of his knowledge and development has come from the opportunity to learn from industry veterans.

Kai is currently completing his last year at Hampton University. His longterm goals in life are quite simple: motivate and inspire.

“I just want to be able to do my thing and make a mark. Motivate people my age, younger than me and older than me. Be inspirational with everything I do and help people understand that you can truly do anything you put your mind to…and that’s another reason that I am always looking to do something new. To be honest, I get tired of doing the same sh*t all the time, so I am constantly thinking, “what can I do next?” When I conquer my goals, I plan to be a person who can motivate ALL types of people to do the things they want to do, to be cool, to be fly.”

Photographed by Terika Walton

What is something that most people don’t know about you?

Kai: I am actually handsome as hell…sike. Most people don’t know that I do all the things that I do until I make it known.

Dame: Probably that I grew up in Baltimore, and besides acting, I am also a writer.

At what moment will you feel truly successful?

Kai: Once I get a Grammy. Once I am Amazon’s Top BookSeller. Once I have touched a million from my designs. Once my clothing line is featured in GQ. Once my mom doesn’t have to pay bills anymore. Once my loans are paid (coming soon!). Once I am a public figure. Once my positive vibes are at 100%. Once I have my dream crib. Once I don’t have to worry. Once I have inspired someone that I felt I’d never be able to inspire. That’s when I’m truly successful.

Dame: Besides income-wise, when I am constantly surrounded by good spirits and good vibes (not that I am not now) 24/7. I know the worries will never go away, but when they lessen, and I am at good enough place financially, that I can make a real difference. Essentially, once I am able to switch up the vibes anytime I want! When I earn an award for acting!

What’s the hardest line you’ve ever written?

Kai: Idk, that’s a hard a** question! *laughs* Every line!

Dame: We make hits everyday, b! But we’ll drop more hits, and you tell us what the hardest line is!

Dame: No G, I am marrying Beyonce just off of the strength that…it’s Beyoncé. Keeping Megan Good and Rihanna can go, because everyone wants Rihanna, and I don’t want someone everyone else wants (she’s still fye though). Then again…I think I would keep Rihanna and Beyonce and chalk Megan Good…but not in a savage way, in a nice way!

What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?

Kai and Dame: The most recent embarrassment that we can recall is a time this summer where we were outside at Diddy’s house and the people with us were being loud, — not us, but the people we were with — and he came outside, saw us two and immediately tore us apart, explaining that we were raised to have manners and be considerate. Essentially, he was trying to make us understand that if we wanted to be talk and be loud, we can do that inside, but do not disturb the peace of others just because we were having a good time. That was the most embarrassing sh*t that happened to us this year, it was funny, because it really wasn’t our fault, but we were the only two out there that he really knew enough to say something to.

Dame: *laughs* You can’t even say anything back to him, because it’s like, “yea..you’re right.”

Thank you so much to Kai and Damion for letting me in on your lives!

You can expect several projects from these two in the near future. Damion has a BSU Web series release date of January 2018 and Kai is set to release his EP “Born To Win” as well as new God Glory Gold material in the near future. In the meantime, go check out both of their work below, and follow them on social media to be the first to know the MOB’s next moves.

Disclaimer

All images on www.affinitymagazine.us and www.culture.affinitymagazine.us are readily available on the internet and believe to be in public domain. Images posted are believed to be published according to the U.S. Copyright Fair Use Act (Title 17, U.S. code.). Copyright ® 2013-2018. All text herein is property of the author and may not be copied or reproduced without explicit permission.